Healthy Eating starts today...

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zill
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Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:12 pm

As most of you know already I am a bit of a junk food addict maybe not too dissimilar to Marlon Brando's food addiction and binge eating behavior but less extreme off course.

http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments ... on_brando/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I know what is healthy to eat as many people here have advised but the irrational urge is often too great. Some people here have suggested that it is psychological and it most likely is. It's something that is hard to change as I feel that I am born with it. Maybe I'm a very emotional person at heart which unfortunately 'feeds' into my eating habits as well.

Very unfortunately, I live close to many great cafes and so it is simply too easy to randomly go out for a 5 min trip and consume over 10 000 Kj of desserts when not even hungry (note that I am actually at a healthy weight range due mainly to the cycling that I do but it also means that I have the potential to eat massive amounts). So what I have done now is (in order to not move houses) severely make it inconvenient to binge at cafes. I've cut all my cards and deposited all my cash. What I have now is a cheque book which cafes don't accept. Shopping will be done online and delivered in the next day or two. Hence if I order junk, will not get instant gratification so will not bother (I seem to only enjoy high calorie junk when I can get it instantly).

I really hope this will work but the first few days as always will be extremely difficult. This food addiction is really like some kind of drug addition!

Constantheadwind
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby Constantheadwind » Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:56 pm

You're making an effort so it looks like you're on the right path. Never let the momentum wane.

zill
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:25 pm

Constantheadwind wrote:You're making an effort so it looks like you're on the right path. Never let the momentum wane.
Have tried many ways in the past but this is the most extreme by far!

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DaveQB
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby DaveQB » Wed May 13, 2015 1:17 pm

WOW! That sounds intense.
Certainly junk food has addictive qualities; evolutionary survival has depended on us as a species to favour high calorie foods. Sugar is addictive etc.

So yes, it would be like a drug addiction. The hardest time is the start, which is now for you. Push through it and it will get easier. You need to attach positive thoughts with healthy food and negative/bad thoughts/emotions with the junk food. How you do that is unique to you.

Good luck and wish you well on this.
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casual_cyclist
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed May 13, 2015 2:27 pm

zill wrote:Some people here have suggested that it is psychological and it most likely is. It's something that is hard to change as I feel that I am born with it. Maybe I'm a very emotional person at heart which unfortunately 'feeds' into my eating habits as well.
I very much seriously doubt this is something you were born with. From my own experience of being a reformed sugar addict, I can say this: I got to the point where nearly all the food I ate had added sugar. 5 or 6 times a day I got ridiculously hungry, felt weak and shaky and felt like I *had* to eat something with sugar to recover. It was really irrational and if provoked during those times I would fly into a fit of rage and start irrationally screaming. It's very embarrasing to think about now. Needless to say I was very nutrient deprived and ended up very sick.
zill wrote:Very unfortunately, I live close to many great cafes and so it is simply too easy to randomly go out for a 5 min trip and consume over 10 000 Kj of desserts when not even hungry (note that I am actually at a healthy weight range due mainly to the cycling that I do but it also means that I have the potential to eat massive amounts).
I am not being at all rude in saying this but I would like you to know that this is not at all normal behaviour. There is disordered eating and there are eating disorders. I'm not sure which side of the line I fell on but I was able to overcome my problem without professional support. It would be worthwhile to consider seeking some professional support to assist you to overcome this if you need it. I know at the time my eating was out of balance that I considered if I might have binge eating disorder. "Binge Eating Disorder is a psychological illness characterised by frequently eating excessive amounts of food, often when not hungry." Surprisingly, people with Binge Eating Disorder may be a normal weight. It's the feeling of not being in control of your food choices and eating when not hungry that categorises BED. I know that when I was in a food panic, I wasn't rationally selecting nutritious foods to eat. I was just grabbing anything sweet and eating it. Even though the physical act of eating itself was controlled for me (i.e. I didn't shovel the food down my throat, I ate it normally), it was the food choices themselves that represented a loss of control in my case.
zill wrote:I really hope this will work but the first few days as always will be extremely difficult. This food addiction is really like some kind of drug addition!
I can vouch for this to be difficult to overcome. However, it is something that you want to change. I can't describe to you how different it feels to be able to rationally choose what to eat and be in control of food choices as opposed to having food control you. Here is a compare and contrast for me, before and after, actual experience:

before: I arrive home from work feeling starving. This is a deep and driving hunger that consumes my entire attention. I feel weak and shaky. I feel like I have no energy and can barely lift my arms. I can't think of anything else until I have satisfied my urge to eat. I raid the fridge and cupboard for anything sweet. I find a some biscuits in the cupboard and cake in the fridge. I also pour some fruit juice to start drinking while I put together a snack. My flatmate tries to talk to me. I fly into a fit of rage, screaming irrationally. I don't even know what I am saying. I just can't control my urge to yell and yell. I drink some more juice, eat the biscuits and then the cake. I don't eat a lot. That's not the point. Just enough to satisfy my cravings. A few biscuits, a slice of cake and a tall glass of juice are enough. But I barely make it to dinner which is only an hour and half away. After dinner I don't feel satisfied until I have eaten some more cake. Later that night I snack on icing. So good!

after: Walking from the bus to home, I feel vaguely hungry. I arrive home feeling like I could eat but choose not to. I drink a glass of water and go for a half hour run. I arrive home and find there is no food to cook for dinner. No problem. I walk to the local shops and and buy the ingredients I need to cook with. Even though I feel hungry while I'm shopping, I do not feel the urge to buy any junk food. It nice to feel like I can make a choice. I walk back home and start preparing dinner. I chat to my flatmate while I am cooking. By the time dinner is ready I feel fairly hungry. I enjoy my dinner and feel satisfied after eating. I don't feel the need to eat anything after. Late that night I eat eat a bowl of watermelon. So good!

I was able to kick my habit without professional support. You may be able to as well. But if you can't, please consider getting some help. Here are some great resources to get you started:
http://www.smartrecovery.org/addiction/ ... rders.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eatin ... vAodogwAZw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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marty_one
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby marty_one » Thu May 14, 2015 2:38 pm

zill wrote:As most of you know already I am a bit of a junk food addict maybe not too dissimilar to Marlon Brando's food addiction and binge eating behavior but less extreme off course.
Your not the only one who has a taste for the crappier food, I struggle with this myself. I am looking to take steps myself to begin eating better. One of the major drivers for me is that my wife has recently found out she is Lactose intolerant. What this means is that we can no-longer rely on convenience foods from the supermarket and start cooking more food ourselves.
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zill
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Thu May 14, 2015 8:56 pm

casual_cyclist wrote: http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eatin ... vAodogwAZw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for your post. Have visited them today.

One thing I've realised is that unlike other addictions, you can't avoid food. Hence balance is everything. It's not an all or nothing but a perpetual compromise with food.

moosterbounce
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby moosterbounce » Thu May 14, 2015 10:50 pm

I could have passed a dose of gastro your way - that would have made you look at food very differently :)

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casual_cyclist
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby casual_cyclist » Fri May 15, 2015 3:04 am

zill wrote:
casual_cyclist wrote: http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eatin ... vAodogwAZw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for your post. Have visited them today.

One thing I've realised is that unlike other addictions, you can't avoid food. Hence balance is everything. It's not an all or nothing but a perpetual compromise with food.
It is something that some of us struggle with that people who don't will never understand. I find most of the time now I am fine but if I get tired, a bit sick and generally feeling run down, I still default to the foods that are fatty and sugary but not nutritious. When I get a chance, I will try to post up a detailed post on how I actually approached and executed a complete dietary change. I feel like you have a lot of support here and people really want you to succeed. I certainly want you to.
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DaveQB
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby DaveQB » Fri May 15, 2015 12:51 pm

moosterbounce wrote:I could have passed a dose of gastro your way - that would have made you look at food very differently :)
Hahaha that would certainly have an effect.
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zill
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Sat May 16, 2015 10:25 pm

casual_cyclist wrote:
zill wrote:
casual_cyclist wrote: http://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eatin ... vAodogwAZw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for your post. Have visited them today.

One thing I've realised is that unlike other addictions, you can't avoid food. Hence balance is everything. It's not an all or nothing but a perpetual compromise with food.
It is something that some of us struggle with that people who don't will never understand. I find most of the time now I am fine but if I get tired, a bit sick and generally feeling run down, I still default to the foods that are fatty and sugary but not nutritious. When I get a chance, I will try to post up a detailed post on how I actually approached and executed a complete dietary change. I feel like you have a lot of support here and people really want you to succeed. I certainly want you to.
Lack of sleep definitely causes a strong urge to binge on desserts. But also if without sweets for a week say, life seems so boring!

zill
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Thu May 21, 2015 5:26 pm

After gaining 10kg (due partly to me not riding a lot), my binge eating habits/temptations are gone. The trick seems to be going for full tasty meals during meal time but without over eating off course. Then you feel good for the rest of the time between meals. The hard part is to figure out how to lose that 10kg while still not tempted to binge eat when I start training again!!!

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marty_one
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby marty_one » Fri May 22, 2015 9:21 am

zill wrote:After gaining 10kg (due partly to me not riding a lot), my binge eating habits/temptations are gone. The trick seems to be going for full tasty meals during meal time but without over eating off course. Then you feel good for the rest of the time between meals. The hard part is to figure out how to lose that 10kg while still not tempted to binge eat when I start training again!!!
For me its about finding the right combination of foods (in particular protien and carbs) that help to make me feel full. Since recovering from a bout of one illness after another (3 months straight!) I have slowly eased back into my exercise, which includes running, swimming and of course cycling. The problem here is with all the energy I am burning I find myself just.....kinda....wanting to eat all the time and I don't really know what foods to eat to help fill the hungers without resorting to sugar!
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Carrots
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby Carrots » Fri May 22, 2015 12:36 pm

Best tip I can think of is plan ahead.

Make sure you have lunch sorted if you are at work/uni/out so that you don't go into a store and buy something you probably don't need.

I always find myself tempted when I don't have a plan (ie lunch already made etc).

And buy something small regardless of the cost benefit of buying in bulk. Ie buy the smaller packet of something (whatever it maybe) instead of buying the "great" 2 for 1 deal which means you end up eating double etc.

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kb
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby kb » Fri May 22, 2015 8:08 pm

Image

Hee hee the answer is the user below your post.
Image

zill
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Fri May 22, 2015 11:02 pm

Carrots wrote:Best tip I can think of is plan ahead.

Make sure you have lunch sorted if you are at work/uni/out so that you don't go into a store and buy something you probably don't need.

Good advice. My new plan is to start to learn to cook, try to be the best chef possible. Basically try to cook better than the restaurants so that I actually desire my own food which I can 100% control the amount of calories.

fat and old
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby fat and old » Wed May 27, 2015 4:28 pm

zill wrote:
Carrots wrote:Best tip I can think of is plan ahead.

Make sure you have lunch sorted if you are at work/uni/out so that you don't go into a store and buy something you probably don't need.

Good advice. My new plan is to start to learn to cook, try to be the best chef possible. Basically try to cook better than the restaurants so that I actually desire my own food which I can 100% control the amount of calories.
Good luck with that.

I'm not a cook at all (except when camping), but my wife has told me consistently over 30 years that she basically does not enjoy eating her own food (which is wonderful) nearly as much as a meal cooked for her....however mediocre. I can see the sense.

How quickly did you gain 10kg? In a month?

Edit...my wife is European, I'm Australian. Eating for me is what I have to do to live, eating for her is a social thing. I think there's a connection there with weight gain.

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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby zill » Thu May 28, 2015 8:01 pm

fat and old wrote:
zill wrote:
Carrots wrote:Best tip I can think of is plan ahead.

Make sure you have lunch sorted if you are at work/uni/out so that you don't go into a store and buy something you probably don't need.

Good advice. My new plan is to start to learn to cook, try to be the best chef possible. Basically try to cook better than the restaurants so that I actually desire my own food which I can 100% control the amount of calories.
Good luck with that.

I'm not a cook at all (except when camping), but my wife has told me consistently over 30 years that she basically does not enjoy eating her own food (which is wonderful) nearly as much as a meal cooked for her....however mediocre. I can see the sense.

How quickly did you gain 10kg? In a month?

Edit...my wife is European, I'm Australian. Eating for me is what I have to do to live, eating for her is a social thing. I think there's a connection there with weight gain.

Gained some initial kg quite quickly then slowed down. Most of the kg were gained in two weeks after I stopped calorie counting. However, I seem to plateau at high 70s which is good.

However, I my injury is getting better and getting back into the swing of things soon. If you don't have someone to cook for you and don't have easy access to cash to indulge in food then cooking for yourself might just work. Note that my problem with gaining those rapdi kgs is that I earn some cash money and even though I have a box to put it in, sometimes the temptation is too much. Am trying to get people to pay by bank transfer. That and cooking myself should work hopefully.

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casual_cyclist
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby casual_cyclist » Fri May 29, 2015 3:29 pm

zill wrote:That and cooking myself should work hopefully.
Don't cook yourself... :wink:
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Dave-in-LK
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby Dave-in-LK » Sun May 31, 2015 2:05 pm

I'm an addiction counsellor ..mainly we see drug and alcohol clients.

That said food addiction is similar

Food provides dopamine blast

Junk food provides intense high dopamine hit but wears off quickly ...because sugar and fat will do this to the brain

Start by looking at your mental health ....overeating is mostly mental challenge than it is physical

Ok... How do we do this ...

Break it down into some categories ...I call them the four L's of addiction

Liver...is your body...have a look at what good food does, focus on positives not what not to do....it's easier to something than it is to NOT DO something bad

Lover...this is relationships ...work on your relationships ...this improves your mental health ...if people around us happier we follow that path too. Happy people eat better.

Livelihood....how much are u spending on junk food ....

Legal.....probably doesn't fit for food addiction but you could use the analogy that it's illegal for my body .....as a quote if you like

Ok avoid triggers......don't drive pat fast food places, the smell and signage act as triggers often

Avoid having cash on you as this can a trigger too.

Start by saying yes to something simple each day at the start of the day ...like yogurt and muesli to start

Ok lately do some research into how the brain works ...learn about hippocampus, amygdala and frontal lobe

Each controls our thinking ....often an imbalance in an area can lead to drinking, smoking or bad eating ...

That said with practice you can override this impulse to grab that burger or fries .....

Good luck and focus on THE DOS NOT THE DONTS

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casual_cyclist
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Re: Healthy Eating starts today...

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jun 03, 2015 2:01 pm

Good post Dave-in-LK.

I have transformed my eating using some of those strategies. I found the concept of thinking about and focussing on what I COULD eat rather than on what I COULDN'T eat was really useful. I have read many times that if I stopped eating sugar and junk food that I would feel deprived, cave and binge. I did not find that to be the case at all and I think it came down to mindset for me. By focussing on what I COULD eat, I rewarded myself with foods that I wanted and foods I needed (fruit and veg mainly). It became its own reward cycle: think about eating good food, eating and enjoying the food, then looking forward to eating it.

Something that might be useful is to catch Redesign My Brain, the first series which aired a couple of years ago on ABC. The part that might be useful was divergent thinking. Basically the guy was given a random object and asked to list as many things it could be used for in one minute. He trained himself to be faster and more original at thinking of ideas. How can we apply this to a binge eater?

Basically, anything was a trigger for me to eat: if I felt bored, hungry, tired, stressed, happy or thirsty, the first thing and only thing I thought of was eating (and I followed through every time too). Divergent thinking could help in this situation. I could train myself to think of many different alternatives to eating in response to boredom for example. I could call a friend, read a book, watch tv, go for a walk, go for a run... etc. So with training, every time I feel bored a whole list of things to do could automatically pop into my head instead of eating. The same with feeling hungry at an inappropriate time. For example, if I have a good lunch I know I don't need to eat until dinner time. Sometimes feeling hungry is just thirsty and all I need is a drink. I could train myself to when I feel hungry to automatically think of having a drink first instead of eating something.

The same goes for the other triggers. If you are thinking of raiding the bakery for your favourite sweets, what are some other things you can do.

By the end of the series, in objective measures, the host had actually changed the physical structure of his brain, his though processes and the way his brain functions. This indicates it is possible to break out of old ways of thinking (such as those that lead to binge eating) and retrain our brains to think and work differently.
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